The chatter about the Ukraine War is thundering, and it feels like everyone is on the bandwagon. Yet, as I listen to it across social media and in conversations, it is clear that most of us know little about this nation. It is unlikely that the conflict will end...
This first appeared in China’s Ningbo Guide Magazine in January 2015 in a monthly column called Just Jinx. Gestation is important to each of us, for we are repeatedly granted the process of developing new life and birthing it into the world. May each of you...
Photo by Kak Sok Phirom We’ve launched our new online magazine highlighting Cambodia’s contemporary arts and culture. One article at a time, Magical Cambodia is building a magazine that will introduce you to the artists, galleries, writers, dancers,...
Tribe’s mission statement says exactly what it actually does. No B.S. here, they are the real thing.: Nat Di Maggio & Terry McIlkenny, the owners/managers both share a love and passion for Urban / Street and Contemporary Art. Originally from London...
New Cambodian Artists – NCA We sat in front row seats in the black box theater to experience the recent work of the New Cambodian Artists on Saturday night. It was intense, immediate, personal, moving, skillful, and entrancing. You leave recognizing that you...
Mirage Contemporary Art Space once again illustrated its mission to introduce and highlight the emerging Cambodian art scene. As part of their arresting exhibition of Unsaid Things, រឿងមិនអាចនិយាយ ការតាំងពិរពណ៏ដោយ – An Exhibition by Romcheik 5 Collective –...
I reserved going to Phare Circus until I had learned first hand about their elevating social enterprise, roamed the Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPSA) or “The Brightness of the Arts” campus in Battambang, and befriended teachers, students and some of the countless talented...
It is a delicate dance. Cambodia haunts you as it inspires you. Next door to the abundantly gardened retreat of our home a hotel is being built. According to locals it is owned by a woman who has to start and stop the construction in order to raise the funds to...
I remain astounded by what is happening in Cambodia and tonight the credits go to Batia Sarem Gallery, Martin Phéline, and his guest artists Khvay Samnang and dancer Rady Nget.Not enough can be stated about the courage, skill, and mastery of these artists. Under the...
I spoke at length to a vibrant young man last night. He was a stranger, but only for a moment. He opened up about his life story in which he had literally raised himself, worked many jobs, learned 2 languages, stretched his mind and body, and gained confidence. Yet,...
The role of the US in the disaster of Cambodia. After one month of arriving in Cambodia, I take a day to myself, get caught up with social media, clean the house, and peruse a few books already read for the purpose of trying to answer some questions friends have...
Vanessa Pequeno was pregnant with her new daughter when she made these shoes for the Living Arts Corporation’s Soul Shoe Project. As a young, working parent-to-be she had a lot on her mind. Her thoughts swam backwards and forwards, from her own childhood,...
The maker of these Soul Shoes has yet to be named. They arrived anonymously via the Living Arts Corporation Ambassador Brandon Watkins. Yet, the shoemaker is likely a student of Les Jordan’s North Central Ballet in Keller, Texas- or Les Jordan himself. It is...
One stitch at a time makes sense to Cindy O’Neill. She’s had to learn how to take one step, one day and one challenge at a time. Cindy is a recent cancer survivor, and a remarkable one at that. We’ve had the privilege of witnessing her challenges...
Many of my fondest memories of living in the American South evolved around sitting on the front porch and plaiting the hair of friends, neighbors and relatives. We could spend hours giggling, telling stories and calling out to each and every person that walked by....
Students are making Soul Shoes down in Orange Texas, thanks to their teacher Krista Richard. The classroom discussed violence against children around the world and in their own community and decided to create shoes that celebrated their environment in Orange. Moss...
Over the course of my adult life I have taken solo journeys throughout America, sometimes living with the homeless and sometimes following the trials of Native Americans and African American migration. I remain off the beaten path in search of our nation’s...
The first shoes made from the Soul Shoe Project were created by Angela D’Antonio, an international businesswoman, mother of two exceptional sons and an accomplished designer. I am a dreamer who believes in love! I gave some thought to my title and to what came...
She’s spirited, fun-loving,industrious and by all bets one fine teacher. Erin LeBrock from Baytown, Texas connects with children and infuses them with her energy and passion for life and learning. What better Soul Shoe Maker? These are the shoes that would skip...
Witnessing Kathryn Arena with children, whether they be her own grown daughters, her two grandsons or an anonymous child, is to watch ardor, diligence and attention in high form. Kate knows that parenting and learning is not attained by goodwill or chance. It...
I did a soul shoes project with a mixed group of kids. We talked about the ways in which children survive everyday in ways that we could never possibly relate to. They decided it would be cool to create shoes as organically as possible to represent the earth and the...
Brochures are ready for the Soul Shoe Project. Are you making your shoes? A child dies every 5 minutes from violence. Make a shoe. Stop the Silence. Use community art to bring awareness. The vast majority of children are killed outside warzones and that...
It would be an injustice to add anything about these Soul Shoes. Lea Ann Gardners own words, and the soles of her beloved flip flops, speak with both hands and hearts for the hearing impaired and deaf children in the world. “I used my own shoes that have...
Mike Sheridan’s allegiance to his son Brody is an amazing thing to witness. Mike, who directs the donation program of the Living Arts Corporation, can be frequently seen trudging up and down the office stairs with large boxes and bags from retailers who donate...
Holly Cagle created Soul Shoes so whimsical and playful, we think she should become a designer. The care, thought, and effort put into these shoes is humbling. Thank you Holly, for thinking of a child and immersing so much of yourself in these shoes. Holly lives...
Daisy Saelen Hafstad knows what it means to spin on a floor and dance in celebration of life. When approaching her Soul Shoes contribution Daisy thought about the symbols in her own life that lifted her spirits. For decades she has orchestrated and directed...
Brandon M Watkins has joined the Board of Directors for the Living Arts Corporation and is serving as our Communications Ambassador. Mr. Watkins is the Administration Manager at SMW Projects, Inc., a full service Project Management firm with offices in Lousiana and...
The mother & son team of Clare Arena Haden and Ben have created shoes that any child would love to wear for the Soul Shoes Project. Clare, who is a theatre professional and actress in Wisconsin, is known for her painstaking & conscientious work both on and off...
Soul Shoes! Mother and Daughter team of Paetra and Amy Wendt from Boston spent a day thinking of a child that died from violence. They found outgrown boots & shoes in their closets, pulled out markers and art supplies, chatted away while designing and did what...
Our May, 2015 performance series All Nets Have Holes will include a piece written by Clay McLeod Chapman, who has generously given me the performance rights to his stories in rest area. If you can get to Estes Park, Colorado for the Stanley Film Fest you will have...
New Year’s celebrations always make us itch. They scratch and tickle and won’t leave us alone. They leave us hankering, yearning, thirsting and aching for another day, another chance, another rebirth. On New Year’s Eve we feel like Ebenezer Scrooge being...
There is a inaudible and under-examined plight in the world: we are forgetting how to play. Cross cultural studies on children’s play are alerting us to the rapid decrease in children’s ability to enter in fantasy play and a severe decrease in both free play...
“I’m an ass, you’re an ass, so where’s the problem?” I read these words decades ago but I’m just beginning to own them. They come from Fr. Tony de Mello, who was ostracized by his church but continued to teach people how to wake up and live until his sudden...
Nadia was enchanting from the moment she crossed our threshold. Thirty-one years old, a natural beauty and an open, sincere spirit that flowed immediately from her steady handshake and engaging smile. She came to our home for a week’s respite from her demanding job...
Dear son and China friends, I unabashedly send these words to you. I have been back in America for a month and each day has presented challenges in business, relationships, finances, culture and family dynamics that I could not have forseen while away. While it has...
“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” – Lillian Smith, American writer I’ve been back a few short weeks from a three month hiatus in China and...
Foreigners of all colors call it rude, uncivilized and violating- but they miss the point entirely. We all stare at the Other. I am chuckling as I read my umpteenth blog written by a foreigner about the Chinese love for staring. The Chinese have allegedly...
